In the afternoon, there were only a few people in the hall of the Hawkins police station, and it seemed a little empty.

"You're not here at the chance, the sheriff isn't in the bureau on vacation today," Operator Flo smiled as he handed Dean a cup of hot coffee, "I suggest you look for him at the house by the lake." ”

"I'm not looking for Hope, I've got a friend who has something going on." Dean took a sip of her coffee, and when she looked up, she saw a haggard Catherine, dressed in a black lady's suit, sitting on a row of benches against the wall in the office area, while a dark-haired lady she had met at the last dinner party was with her and whispered persuasion.

He walked over, "Catherine, Audrey? ”

"Thank goodness, Dean, you're finally here." Catherine came with a friend,

"You didn't make it clear on the phone, let's talk about it, what's going on?" Dean's gaze swept over the two,

"Do you still recognize that pervert?" Audrey looked disdainfully at a desk not far from the opposite side, where black officer Nick was interrogating a man who was chained to a table—

With black hair, deep facial features, and a thin build, he wears an old, faded blue shirt and jeans, and his expression is as calm as a pool of stagnant water.

"Isn't this the lame man? How is he perverted? ”

Catherine pursed her lips, "I came home early from the newspaper office this morning to get an important document, only to find that the door to the house was inexplicably half-hidden, and I found him in my house through the crack in the door. ”

Catherine's eyes also condensed a trace of worry, obviously successfully entered the newspaper office to start a new life, who knew that she would encounter such a bad thing again.

"I quietly left to call the police, the police station was not far from Elm Street, and Officer Nick quickly arrived and arrested him red-handed."

Dean nodded when he heard this, recalling what he had seen after the last dinner, and at that time he felt that this cripple was a little strange, but he didn't expect him to be so bold.

"What did he steal? Cash? Dean looked at the man who was being tortured,

Catherine shook her head suspiciously, "I haven't found anything missing for a while, and the police officers didn't find a single stolen item from him at that time. ”

"That's not a careful inspection," Audrey swore with her arm around Catherine's shoulder, "or maybe the police came too quickly, and he hadn't chosen a target yet." ”

"No, this Mr. Reynolds has stood up to protect me in the mall, and he has a great sense of justice, and he is not a thief."

Catherine looked at the silent criminal and said hesitantly,

"I've met him five or six times on Elm Street, and I've offered to give him money or help with his life, but he has refused all of them. There's no reason for him to break into my house in private. ”

"I know you're kind, but kindness also has to have a bottom line?" Audrey warned in a stern tone, "Have you ever wondered what would happen if he happened to bump into you when he broke into your house without permission?" ”

Catherine only pursed her lips stubbornly and turned to Dean to plead,

"I asked Reynolds, but he didn't say anything, and I want you to help me find out why he broke into my house? I'll pay you a sum of money. ”

Dean looked at Catherine's gaze changed slightly, didn't this man have done her a favor before, and was guilty of trying so hard to excuse him,

"Don't mention the remuneration first? Officer Nick isn't interrogating you, but I'll find out later by looking at his transcripts? ”

"How can it be so simple," Audrey rolled her eyes, "we have had four or five cups of coffee in the bureau, and the police officer has tortured him for two hours, but this guy's mouth is as tight as a sewing machine, and he can't say a word for a long time, Catherine went to ask in person, and he revealed that his name was Reynolds, and nothing else was mentioned." ”

"He's waiting for a lawyer?" Dean asked,

"Do you think he can afford a lawyer for his poor appearance? He just sat there and glared at Officer Nick. Audrey deliberately craned her neck and glanced at Reynolds' shabby uh-blue shirt.

"Don't be so mean," Catherine interrupted, turning back to Dean,

"Catherine, I'm not a Hawkins police officer, I can't intervene in the case directly, don't get your hopes up."

"Thank you for your help."

"That's fine. By the way, after the last dinner, didn't I suggest you install a security camera? ”

Catherine's eyes lit up when she heard this,

"As soon as you say that, I remembered, half a month ago, I hired someone to install two cameras, one at the door and one in the living room, and the location is hidden, so ordinary people can't find it."

"Can you bring the surveillance video with me?" "There's a good chance it recorded Reynolds' actions," Dean said. ”

Catherine nodded, clicked on her high heels and hurried out, and Audrey followed closely behind and left the police hall.

As soon as the two left, Dean walked over to Officer Nick's desk, who put down the pen in his hand and gave him a strange look.

"Man, if you want to report the crime, please go to Flo and register."

"No, can I have a conversation with this Mr. Reynolds?"

"Are you his family, his friend, his lawyer?"

"It's not."

"That's not in order."

"For the sake of the director's face," Dean said with a smile as he called him aside, "I'll invite you to the bar next time." ”

Nick's eyes rolled, and he remembered that this guy had been to the bureau a few times with Director Hope, and he had a good relationship, so he knocked on the notebook.

"Five minutes, hurry."

Dean sat across from Reynolds, the guy just glancing at him and hanging his head listlessly.

"Listen, man, whatever your reason for trespassing... But if you don't tell the truth, you'll start a prison tour for at least a year. ”

Nick next to him jumped when he heard this, and he opened his mouth to come, and the theft case that did not cause any substantial damage would be locked up for a few months at most, and perhaps the judge would see that he looked pitiful, and the sentence would be less.

"And it's not an ordinary prison, a special prison in Indianapolis. The inmates inside are men with bear-like physiques and tattoos," Dean described vividly as he wandered over Reynolds' skinny body, "They love to help petite 'sugar babes' like you treat constipation and asthma... If you have to go inside and experience a nightmare, you can go straight to Thailand to be transgender. ”

Reynolds's calm face finally changed slightly, and his shoulders trembled imperceptibly,

"Ahem, ahem," Nick gave Dean a "close" look.

"You don't say we have a way," Dean continued to press, "We've got your fingerprints, we have eyewitnesses, and we're going to find your home and search it inside and out, and all the secrets you've been hiding so hard will come to light, and your current stubbornness will become a joke." If you were smarter, be honest, and maybe Catherine would have forgiven you with kindness and not prosecuted you. ”

Reynolds pinched the lame ankle without raising his head, silently refusing.

"It's a tough bone." Dean shook his head and sighed, suddenly looked at the subtle expression on his face, and changed his words, "But I know, you like Catherine, right?" ”

The man didn't have the surprise and annoyance that Dean expected, he just grinned, and there was a hint of tiredness in his smile.

"It's time, man, don't waste your efforts, you can't ask." Nick reminds,

"Okay, let's talk," Dean said, calling the officer aside, "have you found out his home address or job?" ”

"He didn't say anything. But the town is so big, and he has a fresh face and a different accent than the Hawkins natives. Nick patted his notebook and uttered his analysis, "I must have only moved to town in the last few months." ”

"By the way, Tom is checking out his residence on Elm Street, and we'll have news soon."

"Catherine also has several important surveillance footage from there."

"That's right, let's take a look when the time comes."

The two waited in the hall of the police station.

But a quarter of an hour later, Catherine and Audrey returned to the police station with a pile of surveillance tapes.

"This is a surveillance video from the last week."

"Yes, it's more than the average mall."

Nick complimented, put Reynolds in the detention cell, and led the group through the antechamber to the equipment room near the director's office, took out the surveillance tape in front of the door of the earliest 8.28 from the basket, put it in, and skillfully fast-forwarded.

Dean, Catherine, and Audrey leaned in front of the screen and quickly saw an amazing scene.

"It's Reynolds!"

The cripple, still dressed in the familiar blue shirt and jeans, crouched in front of the gate of Catherine's house, looked around sneakily to make sure that there was no one nearby, then took out a key from his bosom and inserted it into the keyhole, hurriedly opened the door, and dodged into the room.

"He started sneaking into your house a week ago?" Dean looked at Catherine and asked,

"Maybe earlier, after all, there are only videos of the past few days, and the spare keys are all ready." Audrey also made up for his friend, "Do you still believe that he is not a thief?" ”

Catherine's fingertips tightened a handful of blonde hair, and there was a hint of fear in her eyes.

"Quiet!"

Nick switched to the video recording of the indoor hall, and in the center of the screen, Reynolds circled around the room several times, looking around as if he was observing the layout of the house, and then he unexpectedly took out a pair of tape measures from his arms and neatly measured the sofa, coffee table, and TV cabinet in the living room...

I recorded the data in a notebook again, checked it a few times, and nodded with satisfaction.

"What do you mean? Would he like to renovate Catherine's home for free? Officer Nick's swarthy face was covered with question marks, "I've never seen such a strange burglary in my more than ten years as a police officer." ”

Catherine's eyes were blank, "I feel like the electrical appliances and furniture in the house have not been tampered with,"

"You're busy with work and don't notice it." "I'll have to check it out next time I go back." ”

"Look here!"

Dean, who had been staring at the screen, frowned, pressed the pause button, and everyone saw a strange scene again-

After putting away the measuring tools, Reynolds squatted on the sofa and carefully twisted something from the gap in the sofa like an embroidery needle, and put it in a plastic bag.

The clarity of surveillance equipment in this era was limited, and several people really couldn't see what he was twisting, but Reynolds searched around the carpet, bathroom, and bedroom, making the contents of the plastic bag gradually appear pale gold.

Dean glanced at Catherine's supple and smooth hair, and then glanced under her skirt,

"He's collecting your hair, uh, hair?"

Catherine's face was as pale as paper, and she looked more and more weak.

……

After collecting the hair, the man cleaned up the traces he had left behind and left the house decisively.

……

Nick switches to the next Aug. 29 videotape.

Reynolds still sneaked into Catherine's house in the morning after she went to work, measured and observed the layout of the room as usual, and collected the hair that had been left on the sofa, bedroom, and bathroom.

But after doing all this, he took out a black women's suit from the tote bag he was carrying and entered the bedroom, and then a strange scene appeared, and he then walked out of the bedroom with the suit skirt and put it back into the tote bag.

"What's the situation, the skirt is brought into the bedroom and brought out, isn't it useless work?" Audrey's face was puzzled,

"No, I think Reynolds is replacing the original suit skirt in the bedroom closet with the suit dress that comes with it." Dean looked thoughtfully at Catherine, who was currently wearing the one on the screen.

The curves were dimly visible, but her face was ugly, and her expression was fearful and disgusted, as if she wanted to take off her clothes immediately.

"What's the difference?" Nick pressed the pause to look at Dean,

"The difference is that one is brand new, and the other Catherine has worn and stained her." Dean asked, "If I'm not mistaken, Catherine, this suit is the most diligent you've ever worn." ”

The woman nodded, "I—I didn't feel the clothes being changed at all." ”

"It proves that he knows your measurements very well." Dean's words frightened the woman's face.

Audrey put her arms around her friend's shoulders soothingly, and scolded, "Collect Catherine's hair and replace her clothes, what the hell does this dead pervert want to do?" ”

"You're right, maybe he's really a pervert," Nick said with a serious face rubbing his temples, "I've been exposed to cases where some avid fans of rock stars like to invade their idols' private lives, frantically collecting their idols' hair, clothes, shoes, used towels, and even breaking the law and committing crimes. ”

"And Catherine's amazing beauty is not surprising that she has attracted a few fanatical fans." Nick's analysis made several people nod their heads,

Dean took the opportunity to raise another doubt,

"But there's a problem, there should always be a transition period between the fanatic's inner obsession and the act of violating the law. And Catherine, if I'm not mistaken, you've been in Hawkins for just over two months? ”

The woman nodded.

"Reynolds can take a huge risk to break into your house in such a short time? It's more likely that before you moved to Hawkins, he knew you and was obsessed with you. ”

"But before I moved here, I lived in Las Vegas."

Dean recalled Nick's previous assertion that "Reynolds is an outsider" and said, "There is a high probability that this Reynolds is a Las Vegas native who chased you to Hawkins." ”

"I always thought I had seen him somewhere, but the impression was vague, and the name Reynolds was very foreign to me."

Catherine's shallow eyebrows frowned slightly, but when she thought of what the other party had done, she couldn't help but cross her arms and hug her chest, and her mind was blank,

"Needless to say, he must have used a fake name!" Audrey finally couldn't help but burst into a foul mouth, "Officer Nick, what are you waiting for, send this pervert to jail quickly!" ”

"Don't get excited, ma'am, these images are enough to lock him up for half a year, and hopefully apply for a restraining order to prohibit him from getting near Catherine." Nick asked, "But the tape isn't over yet, do you want to go on?" ”

Catherine gritted her teeth and nodded.

……

The next 30th was Catherine's day off, and Reynolds was very clever not to invade the room.

On the 31st, September 1st, and 2nd, he quietly exchanged a new pair of goods for a pair of black heels worn by Catherine.

……

And yesterday, on the morning of the 3rd, the four of them saw the creepy episode in the videotape - Reynolds took out a bottle of red wine from a black tote bag and replaced another bottle of red wine with the same appearance on the restaurant shelf.

He then hid in his bedroom.

It wasn't until about eight o'clock in the evening that Catherine, who was tired, came home from work, laboriously took off her high heels and stockings, went into the bathroom to take a shower, went back to the kitchen to cook a simple pasta, took off the red wine on the shelf, filled a glass, and enjoyed a delicious dinner.

But after she had drunk half a glass of wine, her eyes shone with a misty glow, and she staggered drunkenly to the side of the sofa in the drawing-room, and fell asleep on her side in a groggy state.

Reynolds, who was hiding in the bedroom, stepped out with light steps, the light casting a shadow on his back, and he looked condescendingly at the unguarded "little sheep" on the couch like a butcher picking his prey.

……

Dean noticed that all three of them were holding their breath.

Catherine, in particular, her heartbeat was clearly audible, her hands over her mouth as if she were breaking down, and her eyes were red as she stared at the screen—

But Reynolds looked at her for a full minute, but instead of being violent as everyone expected, he took out a syringe from his handbag and pierced Catherine's elbow socket, drew a small half-tube of blood, and cleaned the needle hole in the woman's elbow socket.

He replaced the medicated red wine on the table with the original bottle and left the house.

The tape fast-forwards to the end.

……

Catherine's hanging heart relaxed, and she stroked her chest and breathed a long sigh of relief, recalling her physical feelings during this time, and becoming more and more sure that she had not been violated.

"This pervert not only steals clothes, shoes, and hair, but also poisons and smokes Catherine's blood?" A hint of fear flashed in Audrey's eyes, "It's a little weird, what does he want to do?" ”

Nick looked at the notebook and shook his head,

"It's not clear, but he broke into private places many times, stolen, poisoned, and committed acts of active harm, which have constituted several felonies, and he has caused a lot of trouble."

"I don't understand, he went to great lengths to anesthetize Catherine just to draw a tube of blood? There was nothing else out of the ordinary," Dean's eyes flashed with a fierce desire for inquiry, "It's not like the logic of an avid fan." ”

"Maybe he thinks the time hasn't come yet," Nick analyzed, "after all, the threshold of human satisfaction is getting higher and higher, and this time he will spare Catherine a yard with a little blood, and the next time he continues to break in, he may cut a piece of meat." Ahem, but the two ladies don't need to worry, he can't escape if he's been caught in the bureau, and he'll have to spend many years in prison for the rest of the year. ”

Catherine's expression was relieved when she heard this, and she looked at Dean pleadingly,

"You're still going to talk to him?" Dean was puzzled,

"No, I can't forgive him for what he did, but I wonder what his motive was for doing it, mental illness or some other reason? Knowing that I can concoct my first high-profile news article in the Hawkins Daily from this, aren't you curious as a private detective? ”

"You're still in the mood to write a report at this time, you're such a workaholic."

Dean complained, and then a new prompt appeared in front of him-

You triggered a new event: Reynolds' Purpose.

Reynolds, a cripple whose identity and origin are unknown, once helped your friend Catherine in the mall, but sneaked into her home and committed many illegal acts...

But after being arrested by the police, he stubbornly remained silent.

Now use your wits to find out what he really did for this series of acts!

Event difficulty: Unknown

Progress: (10/100)

Duration: one week

Reward: At least 30 XP.

Failure Penalty: None

……

(End of chapter)